Miss me? I've missed you. Really there is little excuse for being gone so long. Hopefully some have been getting my updates via Twitter or Facebook. To those who have continued to offer their support through those avenues, thank you!

There have been some major milestones accomplished in the last two months. I may have mentioned that I was planning on doing a half-marathon in the Fall. Approximately two months ago I realized that with the mileage I was doing I was essentially already in half-marathon training. With that in mind I pushed up the date and chose the Friends of the Kennebec River Rail Trail Half-Marathon on June 27th. I adopted a structured plan by Hal Higdon that was available on Buckeye Outdoors. Unfortunately I over-trained and ended up with runner's knee. I recognized the signs though, and took the proper therapeutic measures to be able to run the race comfortably finishing in 2:04:18. Right on the mark for the 9:29 pace I trained for.

In an effort to bounce back from that injury I've taken it quite easy on myself in the weeks following the race. The injury was caused by an imbalance of muscle development, leaving certain muscle groups in my legs under-developed. The solution lies in cross-training. Something I've woefully ignored for a long time, opting instead to only run and strengthen my aerobic conditioning. I've recently started cycling. A too good to miss type opportunity just kind of dropped in my lap so I find myself with a well maintained 2006 Masi Vincere at a steal. All the gear talk and cycle culture is a little intimidating but I felt that way about running too when I started so I guess I'll get acclimated eventually.

Likely the most impactful change I've decided to make is that I've decided to no longer consume any animal meat or by-products. While the decision is primarily based on the positive effects on health through consumption of a plant based diet, many other issues have presented themselves. I'm not going to get preachy but feel it's important to let you my friends know that I feel as though I've awakened. My body is operating cleaner and I feel worlds better. Thanks so much to Megan aka veganrunningmom for offering her help in making the right decision. Check out her podcast here.

One more thing. I'll be sitting at the Runners Round Table for the second time tomorrow, July 14th at 4 PM EST, while we discuss weight loss. It would seem that Toni thinks I have some type of insight to offer on the subject so I'll be more than happy to offer up what I've learned in the last year. Thanks everyone for hanging in there so long. Look forward again to weekly updates on my weight and fitness.